Apple's Music Store policy -- the fine print for expatri ates

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 15:55:44 -0400
> From: "sbaker () steptoe com" <sbaker () steptoe com>
> Subject: RE: [IP] Apple's Music Store policy -- the fine print for expatri 
> ates
> To: "'dave () farber net'" <dave () farber net>
>
>
> Dave,
>
> I too have been a deeply satisfied eMusic.com user.  But it isn't perfect.
>
> The good: No BS DRM measures, everything in mp3, all-you-can-download 
> monthly prices around $10 and $15 a month, and "download this album" buttons.
>
> The bad:  They spent all their money on music, and they don't seem to have 
> any left over for promotion or even much in the way of selection tools and 
> description.  You'll want to have two windows open, one to emusic and one 
> to AMG.
>
> And the music selection is, uh, quirky.  Indie rock and classic jazz are 
> big strengths, the rest seem like also-ran selections.  But if you have 
> *ever* spent more than five minutes looking through a "jazz bargain bin" 
> of CDs or tapes, you will like eMusic.  To decide if it's for you, you can 
> check out their selections without buying anything.  Go to www.emusic.com, 
> and type the names of a few artists you are interested in into the search 
> bar, or wander through the categories.  You aren't required to log in 
> until you want to download.
>
> At the end of the day, emusic.com shows that the industry can beat "free" 
> music, but not if it wants music fans to take a beating too.
>
> Stewart Baker
> Steptoe & Johnson LLP
> 1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
> Washington, DC 20036
> phone -- 202.429.6413
> email fax -- 202.261.9825
> main fax -- 202.429.3902
> sbaker () steptoe com
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dave Farber [<mailto:dave () farber net>mailto:dave () farber net]
> Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 3:01 PM
> To: ip () v2 listbox com
> Subject: [IP] Apple's Music Store policy -- the fine print for expatriates
>
>
> >Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 14:52:22 -0400
> >From: Shawn Yeager <mail () shawnyeager com>
> >Subject: Re: pho: Fwd: Apple's Music Store policy -- the fine print for
> >  expatriates
> >To: pho () onehouse com
> >Cc: declan () well com, dave () farber net
> >
> >
> >Thanks to William in the Apple Music Store group (who I believe is on
> >the
> >Pho list), it appears that I received bad information from their customer
> >support organization, and he's working on restoring my ability to play the
> >purchased songs.
> >
> >Thanks, William.
> >
> >Shawn
> >
> >--
> >
> >shawnyeager.com
> >+1 416 305 4142
> >
> >
> >On Thursday, July 24, 2003, at 06:34  PM, Shawn Yeager wrote:
> >
> >>Given Lucas' comment about eMusic (the non-suckiness of which I will
> >>be
> >>discovering shortly), I thought the below was worth forwarding along.
> >>After all my Apple Music Store cheerleading, I got bitten. I really don't
> >>blame Apple, per sé, but it's a lame duck, regardless.
> >>
> >>Begin forwarded message:
> >>
> >>>From: Shawn Yeager <mail () shawnyeager com>
> >>>Date: Thu Jul 24, 2003  1:21:03  PM Canada/Eastern
> >>>To: declan () well com, dave () farber net
> >>>Subject: Apple's Music Store policy -- the fine print for expatriates
> >>>
> >>>Declan and Dave:
> >>>
> >>>I just received a harsh lesson in DRM and record label-driven policy
> >>>that may be of interest to those on your lists who are Apple customers
> >>>and may be leaving the United States in the future. Having purchased a
> >>>number of songs from the Apple Music Store while in the US and using a
> >>>US funds credit card, I regrettably didn't read the fine print. I've now
> >>>discovered that if you leave the country, your songs may just disappear,
> >>>as mine have.
> >>>
> >>>I've recently moved to Canada and just this week had a problem with
> >>>my
> >>>PowerBook that called for me undertaking a reinstall. After firing up
> >>>iTunes and attempting to play purchased songs, I was asked to
> >>>reauthorize those songs, using the Apple ID associated with the
> >>>purchase. No problem, I thought. This is the Apple Music Store, not
> >>>PressPlay or MusicNet. I paid for these songs and they're mine. Silly
> >>>me. Apparently, if you change your contact address and/or have your US
> >>>credit card address changed, as I did, you are no longer able to play
> >>>the songs you paid for while on US soil.
> >>>
> >>>After going back and forth with AMS customer support, they pointed me
> >>>to
> >>>the terms of sale policy, and there it is in the very first paragraph:
> >>><<http://www.info.apple.com/usen/musicstore/policies.html>http://www.in 
> fo.apple.com/usen/musicstore/policies.html>
> >>>
> >>>So, shame on me for not reading the fine print. But if you're
> >>>spending
> >>>money with Apple and plan a departure from the States any time soon,
> >>>your money would be better spent on little round platters.
> >
>
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